A Man's Appreciation
by The Blade of Osh-Tekk
Summary: Takes place during Ultimate Alien. This is an idea where I wanted Ben to react his theme song. Not the Alien Force or Ultimate Alien one, but his original one. The one that neither could touch with a ten foot barge pole.


A/N: This idea popped in my head while I was making a Ben 10 story. At this point, I'm going to finish it before I even publish it. So I guess I'll upload it when I actually finish it. Anyway, I always loved the idea of Ben reacting to his old theme song. The original Ben 10 theme song. But how could I pull it off in a way that would make sense? This story. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Today was not a good day to be Troy Nash. It just wasn't. And he didn't say that statement lightly. It usually was always a good day to be him.

Why was today different? Well, maybe having an entire group of armed thugs take you and your band mates hostage just because you would fetch a good amount of money in ransom may have a _small_ part to do with it. And he didn't even know where they got the information on where they would be in order to pull this off.

"It's your lucky day Nash. The police are already over here to barter for you already," the leader of the group said, kneeling down to talk to the band leader. "Of course, it'll only stay that way if we get what we want."

"If what you want is a supreme sized butt kicking, who are we to not help you?" a voice said, causing Troy to look up.

There were three people standing behind each of the hostage takers, and every single one of them would weren't people you expected to be your rescuers.

One was a teenage boy who didn't look any older than seventeen; his skin coated in what looked to be some sort of green metal. He always had a cocky smirk on his face; one that was not unlike the ones Clyde used when he was feeling confident. Which was almost always.

The second was a teenager girl who didn't look much younger than the metal teen. She was a pretty young girl with striking red hair and green eyes. But the most noticeable thing were the fact that her hands were glowing pink - as if her hands were in an energy orb of some sorts.

But the most striking figure was of the guy... no, alien in the center. His head was completely made of metal while not even attached to his body. It floated in the air; between two yellow spikes protruding from his shoulders. His entire body was yellow and black, and his hands were claws with his feet similarly pincer shaped. All topped off with a green symbol of an hourglass on his chest that looked out of place.

He recognized the symbol immediately, and the guy who was calling the shots immediately voiced his thoughts.

"Ben Tennyson," he said, his voice half filled with fear and the other half with conviction. "How'd you even show up?"

"It wasn't hard to considering you blabbed your location to the police when you call them in," Lodestar said, and even with his metallic sounding voice, the cheek in his tone was hard to miss.

Immediately, Troy felt himself being lifted up forcibly by the shirt and a gun pressed to his temple. His body stiffened in fear while his eyes darted to his rescuers. Suddenly, the eyes of each hero narrowed. Despite their age, it was a look that would make any sensible man want to back off. But these were not sensible men.

"Take a step closer, and he'll get it," the leader threatened.

"I'm sure he doesn't want what you're offering," Lodestar said before holding out a hand and a sharp ringing filled the air.

Before anyone could even think to react, each gun that was in each thug's hands attracted to Lodestar's outstretched claw. One by one, each gun was pulled to him and was stuck to his claw. Even sidearms like knives and small guns were ripped from them. It happened so fast, that even Troy was left reeling at the sudden turn of events. And in another flash of green, the alien in front of him was gone and was replaced by a red one with four different arms.

"When you're a naughty boy, you get your toys taken away," Fourarms said, waggling two fingers. Then in an instant, he rushed forward and punched the gang leader hard enough to immediately knock the man unconscious. All while two hands were pulling him back and away from the thugs.

Meanwhile, his partners were not idle. Anyone who had the sense to try and run now that the whole situation turned south were immediately put down. Either by the man completely made of metal, who could knock out the hostage takes just as easily as Ben. Or by the girl, who had them bound with pink energy that she fired from her hand.

"You alright?" a voice asked, which caused Troy to wheel around.

Standing there as if a fight hadn't just happened, was Ben Tennyson in his actual human form. He was holding a hand out to the band leader, and the man grasped it without thinking. Someone over a decade younger than him had just saved his life. All without any considerable effort.

"I'm fine. That was... incredible," Troy said.

"Thanks. I always did have a rather magnetic personality," Ben said with a grin.

While being untied by Gwen and Kevin, both of his band mates, Clyde and Stacy groaned from the pun while their rescuers rolled their eyes. Troy couldn't help but laugh at the kid's personality. He seemed rather easy going and relaxed, despite the line of work he was in. And he purposefully made bad puns without any shame. Most people thought it was exasperating. Troy liked it.

"Now that the danger's passed, can I just say how great it is to meet all of you? I mean, I wish it could've been under better circumstances, but I'm a big fan of Satisfaction's music," Ben said excitedly as he shook the the band leader's hand. It threw Troy for a loop.

This teenager was the one who rescued him from being used as a bargaining tool or being killed if things went south, and _Troy_ was the one having his hand shook and being fawned over by the same person. It was something he couldn't fathom.

"So you're fans of the band?" Clyde suddenly interjected with with a smile.

"Me and Gwen are. I don't know about Kevin," Ben said. The Osmosian in question only shrugged.

"Now's not a time to discuss that right now. We've still got to patrol the area of any alien activity," Gwen suddenly said.

"Ugh. You're right," Ben said distastefully. But the grimace didn't last long before he was smiling and waving at Troy. "See ya Troy! Great to meet all of you."

"Wait a second," Troy said, causing all three heroes to stop in their tracks. "If you're really fans of the band, we'll be having a concert in Bellwood a week from now. If you could show up there, I'd appreciate it. On me. It's the least I could do to say thanks."

"If there isn't another alien or hostage situation, I'll be glad to show up," Ben said agreed with a smile, and Troy nodded.

"I'd be happy to. Kevin?" Gwen asked, looking to her boyfriend.

"Yeah. I guess," Kevin said with a shrug.

"Then it's settled. See you in a week," Ben said as the police showed up. The three of them drove off in a green convertible.

"You've got that look in your eye Troy," Stacy said, tearing through his thoughts with her voice. He may have been the band's leader, but she had the best voice of the group, hands down. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking there's more we can do to thank our heroes..." Troy trailed, a grin on his face. "Come on. Let's get these witness statements over with. I've got something to do, and not very long to do it."

* * *

"You know, I wasn't sure about this at first, but sometimes it really is nice having everyone know who you are," Ben said with a smile. He was still wearing his green jacket, but there was a band T-Shirt with "Satisfaction" written on it in elegant looking cursive.

"That's because it got you a free ticket into one of your favorite bands," Kevin said flatly.

"Well, can you blame him? It's not often doing hero work leads to something favorable," Gwen said with a shrug. She was wearing a shirt similar to Ben's, but fitted for females and the words colored differently.

"I don't even know this band," Kevin said, looking to the sky. That way he wouldn't have to look at the line that was so long, it was almost like they could cover an entire city block.

"Well, prepare your ear holes. You're about to get a good show," Ben said with a smile.

After a bit of waiting, suddenly there was a loud, high pitched noise that had everyone covering their ears. But it was only from a loudspeaker that one of the security guards had in his hand.

"If Ben Tennyson and his friends are in line now, please let me know you are here. Any signal will do," the security guard said, immediately starting an outbreak of whispering.

Everyone but Gwen and Kevin stared when Ben jumped in the air and immediately transformed into Jetray. There was gasps of shock and surprise, but Ben ignored them in favor of getting to the front of the line faster.

"Is this good enough?" Jetray asked with his arms crossed, causing the security guard to smile.

"It'll do. Now if you will, come to the front of the line," the security guard said before turning off his loudspeaker.

Ben landed and transformed back into his human form while both Kevin and Gwen stepped out of line, causing everyone to look at them with either awe or distaste.

"That's Ben Tennyson!"

"Of course he gets to cut to the front of the line..."

"He's a fan of Satisfaction?"

"What hero shows up at a public concert?"

Ben and Gwen both looked more annoyed at the comments than upset, and glares Kevin sent at them had them turning around to face the front. As far as Kevin was concerned, the only one who was allowed to make snide comments towards Tennyson was him. But unlike them, Kevin didn't have any actual malice in his words.

"Follow me. Mr. Nash wanted me to escort you to your seats personally," one of the security guards said once they got to the front.

"In case you haven't noticed, we can kind of take care of ourselves," Kevin said dryly, causing Gwen to elbow him.

"What he means is that we don't know where we'll be seated," she said, causing Kevin to rub the back of his head. He did actually overlook that detail.

"Which is why I'm here. And here, you shouldn't have to worry about defending yourselves. You're here as Satisfaction's honored guests. Leave that to us unless it's something completely out of our league," the security guard said, making Ben smile.

Even though the circumstances certainly weren't normal, the security guard didn't fawn over them or treat them with too much distaste. It was the kind of attitude that Ben had grown to like more ever since becoming a public figure. One of professionalism.

"Then lead the way," he said, causing the security guard to nod.

As it turns out, their seats were all the way at the front. Wasn't much of a surprise, but they were located in a spot that was directly in front of where the band would be playing.

"This is awesome," Ben said with a smile as he sat down in the first seat.

"Just how good is their music anyway?" Kevin asked.

"Think of me on a butt kicking spectrum, equate it to their music quality, and you'll have your answer," Ben said with a grin, making Kevin roll his eyes.

"How about if you didn't have the watch?" he said with an eyebrow raise, making Ben roll his eyes in kind.

"If you two keep doing that, your eyes are going to get stuck like that," Gwen said, unable to help rolling her eyes.

"Look who's talking," both boys said at the same time.

"Oh, great. You can get along. Now please do that when the concert actually starts," Gwen said while giving them a warning look. Neither boy was eager to start another argument when _that_ look was directed at them.

When the three band members walked on the stage, the entire arena nearly deafened with cheers and hoots and whistling. And in Kevin's case, it included from the two teens next to him. Which was something he honestly didn't expect, but probably should've.

_"If they were wrong and I don't enjoy this band, this is going to be a long night,"_ Kevin thought, putting a hand on his cheek.

"Hello Bellwood! Are you ready to rock!" Troy exclaimed.

Cheers of assent met his ears, and with a casual scan of his eyes, he could see that Ben was one of them. The young hero was in the front row with his friends next to him. Showtime.

"We're going to start off the show with something a little different this time," Clyde said, a smile breaking free on his face. "It isn't long, but it's more of a gift to a very special person."

Ben's eyes widened when his eyes locked onto the teenager, and roamed over to his friends before the music started. And as soon as he heard the unknown tune, it clicked. But he didn't believe it.

"No way..." Ben trailed, causing Kevin to look towards him.

"What?" he asked, but it seemed Ben was too stunned to speak.

_It started when an alien device did what it did_

_And stuck itself upon his wrist _

_With secrets that it hid... _

_Now he's got superpowers_

_He's no ordinary kid... _

_He's Ben 10!_

_"They did it," _Ben thought as he felt Kevin and Gwen's gazes on him.

_So if you see him you might be in for a big surprise..._

_He'll turn into an alien before your very eyes_

_He's slimy, creepy, fast and strong_

_He's every shape and size..._

_He's BEN 10!_

_"Ben 10!" _the crowd exclaimed along with Satisfaction. This time Ben grinned while being unable to stop himself from getting to his feet in excitement.

_Armed with powers he's on the case_

_Fighting off evil from Earth or space_

_He'll never stop till he makes them pay..._

_'Cause he's the baddest kid to ever save the day!_

_BEN 10!_

"So that's why he wanted us here," Gwen said, as the song ended.

She had a grin on her face at her cousin's childlike excitement. If he clapped any harder, he would clap his skin off. And probably keep clapping regardless.

"You know he's never going to stop talking about this for the next few days," Kevin said as if the very thought itself was painful.

"Give him a break. I don't think anyone's ever shown appreciation like this for him before," Gwen said with a smile.

Ben's grin never dropped from his face for the rest of the show.

* * *

"I can't believe they wrote me a song. World renowned band Satisfaction wrote _me_ a song," Ben said in a giddy tone.

"We got it. You can stop talking about it Tennyson," Kevin said in an irritated tone. The show was over, and Ben was heading backstage in order to talk to them. And he hadn't shut up about it ever since.

"I mean, I could. But I really can't," Ben said with a grin, making Kevin growl. But Gwen's hand on his arm calmed him down.

"Give him a break. What Ben's feeling is basically equal to any of your favorite car designers building and designing a car that was solely for you," Gwen said. She smirked in victory when Kevin went completely still.

"Ok. Point taken," Kevin admitted. "But your were right. They were pretty good."

"Told you," Gwen said with a smile before giving Kevin a kiss on the cheek, grabbing ahold his his hand.

When they went backstage, Satisfaction was standing in place as if waiting for Ben's arrival. Troy in particular, had the widest grin on his face.

"So? What'd you thi- whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise when he suddenly felt himself being lifted off his feet in a hug. "Can't breathe kid!"

Ben let him go while flushing slightly, but he still had the widest grin on his face.

"Certainly stronger than he looks," Clyde said with an amused smile.

"He's just a bit excited," Gwen said with a fond smile towards Ben.

"A bit, huh? I've seen children less excited on Christmas," Stacy said with a grin. "When Troy offered the idea, I didn't think he could come up with something to play in a week."

"But he did. Surprised us, in fact," Clyde said, making Troy grin.

"If I've got the drive, nothing stops me. You two know this," he said before turning to Ben. "I only had a week to come up with that. That's the only reason why it's so short."

"And the reason you couldn't have at least added a line about a guy with absorbing powers?" Kevin asked. Gwen rolled her eyes with a smile on her face as the band members chuckled.

"That too," Troy added.

"Just the fact that you made it is enough for me," Ben said, a warm smile stretching crossing his face. "You did a crazy job in describing me when I first got the watch. How'd you know?"

"I can't really tell you. Cause I don't know myself. When I write a song, I just put down whatever words down that feel right. And every single lyric seemed to line up ways that just worked. It was actually surprising how easy it came to me after enough thinking," Troy admitted.

"Well, even if no one else in the world agrees, I thought it was awesome. Thank you," Ben said.

"No Tennyson. Thank you. You and your friends for what you've been doing for all of us. That was just one way I could show how thankful me, and likely many other people are for what you do for us. Don't let that idiot on the news bother you for even a second. What you do is appreciated, and you'll always have a supporter in us," Troy said genuinely.

Ben looked overwhelmed; unable to get his mouth to form words, given the way he was mouthing silently. Everyone chuckled at his reaction.

"I think you've succeeded where other villains have failed. You have successfully broken Ben Tennyson," Gwen said as Ben managed to shake himself free of his reverie.

"You turning into a soft guy on me now, Troy?" Stacy teased, making the band leader roll his eyes.

"I'm allowed to show gratitude, aren't I? It isn't in any way turning 'soft,'" Troy said with finger quotes.

"Keep telling yourself that," Stacy said, making Clyde laugh as Troy rolled his eyes.

The grin returned to Troy's face when he remembered that look on the kid's face when that song started. Yeah, this had all been worth it.

* * *

A/N: Could I have come up with a better name besides Satisfaction? Yes. More than likely. But I was too lazy to think of a witty idea. So Satisfaction it is.

I think I'll upload that story I have in my Doc Manager sometime in the next few weeks maybe. It won't be as squeaky clean as this one. This was a story I could write without devolving into a more degenerative dialogue style, but all bets are off when the bigger story shows up. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
